When it comes to Instant Pot cauliflower recipes, this one is definitely a must-try! A whole head of cauliflower is perfectly pressure cooked with a delicious spice rub, then finished with a sweetened glaze and garlic, thyme bread crumbs. It's beautiful, impressive, festive and easy to make. Serve it as a plant-based, vegetarian main or as a side for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter or a special dinner.
If you've never tried cooking a whole cauliflower, this is a great recipe to give it a go. As a dish, it's impressive looking, and can be served as a centrepiece at any dinner gathering. Normally, roasting the whole head of cauliflower takes quite a long time but we're using the Instant Pot pressure cooker to speed up this process.
How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower (Video)
The cauliflower is rubbed with butter or dairy-free margarine before getting a lovely spice mix rubbed all over it. Once inside the Instant Pot, it will pressure cook for five minutes on HIGH, which will soften it and get all those spices and fat melted into the vegetable.
While the cauliflower is cooking, you will prepare the garlic bread crumbs and a tomato-y glaze. You can then finish the cauliflower in the oven for 10 minutes (to get a nice crust) or you can serve it without. We've provided notes in the instructions in the recipe card below for both cases. Here is a handy video to show you how to make this Instant Pot cauliflower recipe.
To Glaze Or Not To Glaze
The glaze sauce is a little sweet and tomato-based and it's totally up to you if you want to use it. Cauliflower will have plenty of flavor from the spice rub and the garlic crumbs, so if you want to simplify the recipe, the glaze can be omitted. Alternatively, you can brush it with your favourite BBQ sauce.
Do I need To Use The Oven?
Whether you use the glaze or not, you also have the option to finish the cauliflower in the oven. We put the cauliflower in a hot oven for 10 minutes to get a bit of a crust, but if you don't have an oven or it's occupied by another dish, you can certainly go without.
How To Serve Whole Cauliflower
You can serve the whole cauliflower on a round platter or a cutting board. Make sure to discard any juices from the baking dish before topping the cauliflower with the bread crumbs to keep them crunchy. Otherwise, any crumbs that fall to the bottom might get soggy from the cooking juices. It's not a big deal and they will still taste delicious. We topped ours with a few extra seeds and dried cranberries for that festive Christmas look.
Use a fork to hold the cauliflower in place when you cut it. You can slice out a wedge or cut away a few florets and dish them out with a few garlic crumbs on top.
MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
- Instant Pot Vegan Bolognese
- More Instant Pot Cauliflower Recipes
- Instant Pot Mediterranean Diet Recipes
- Butternut Squash Risotto With Blue Cheese
- Instant Pot Creamed Beets
Rate This Recipe
Instant Pot Whole Cauliflower
Ingredients
For the spice rub
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1.5 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 whole cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon butter or dairy-free alternative (20 g)
For the garlic crumbs
- 1 cup chopped, stale bread we used old sourdough
- 1 tablespoon butter or margarine/olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the glaze
- 1.5 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha or other hot sauce
- Other toppings: pumpkin seeds dried cranberries, fresh herbs
- You will need an Instant Pot trivet and ideally a steaming basket
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 C / 480 F if you want to finish the cauliflower with a little roasting.
- Mix the spice rub in a bowl and rub the cauliflower all over with butter. Sprinkle with the spices and rub them in on all sides. Place cauliflower inside a round baking tin or a steamer basket, if you have one.
- Add a cup of water to the Instant Pot and place the trivet on the bottom. Place the cauliflower dish on top of the trivet or place the cauliflower head directly on the trivet and close the lid. Set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook, HIGH pressure for 7 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, prepare the crumbs and the glaze (if using).
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the butter or other cooking fat/oil. Once melted, add the diced bread and toss through. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a couple of times, before adding the garlic, lemon zest, thyme and salt. Stir and cook together for another minute or two, until garlic gets fragrant and golden (don’t let it burn to get too brown though, as it will turn bitter). Set aside.
- Whisk the glaze ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Once the Instant Pot timer's up, release the pressure manually using the quick release if you plan to finish the cauliflower in the oven. If not, allow the pressure to release naturally.
- If roasting, transfer the pre-cooked cauliflower head carefully to a baking dish lined with parchment paper and brush the glaze all over. Pop in the hot oven for 10 minutes to get a nice crust. If not roasting, simply brush with the glaze.
- Top the cauliflower with the garlic bread crumbs (make sure to discard excess cooking juices from under the cauliflower first so that crumbs don't get soggy). Add any other toppings you like.
- To serve, cut the cauliflower into wedges and serve with some crumbs over the top.
Video
Nutrition
SAVE THIS WHOLE CAULIFLOWER RECIPE TO PINTEREST
Rae Wyshynski
5 minutes was way too long for my cauliflower today. Flavour is great. Texture is way to mushy. Will try 3 minutes next time. Not giving up!,
Instant Pot Eats
Was this for a whole head of cauliflower or was it cup up or perhaps a small head? That would make a difference.
gnorman
this recipe tasted good, but the cauliflower was terribly overcooked at 5 min. and was mushy. It fell apart before I could even get it in the oven to brown. It was disappointing. I would try it again, but not in the instant pot. I think it would be better in the oven. Easier to track when it is done just right.
Thanks